Remember those cute, little albatross chicks that hatched earlier this year? Well, now, they look like this:
Since these chicks pipped some four-and-a-half months ago, they witnessed double-overhead swells pounding the shore below their bluff, they survived heavy rains that bred mosquitoes and an avian pox that twisted the bills of their breathren, and they celebrated Valentine's Day, my birthday, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and, now, the longest day of the year. But, as you can see, these two chicks are readying for their coming out party. Like a debutante, they are spiffing up--finding a new dress, scheduling facials and fixing their hair. It is almost time to fledge. Already, at least one of the Laysan albatross on Kaua'i has sailed away, not to touch land again for three to five years. I suspect these two will follow in the next week. Bon voyage.